Joint Venture Combines Companies' Strengths in the Development and Deployment of Second Generation Ethanol from Non-Food Feedstocks to Address $75 Billion Market Opportunity WILMINGTON, Del., and COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 14
WILMINGTON, Del., and COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 14 /PRNewswire-
FirstCall/ -- DuPont (NYSE: DD) and Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S,
today announced an agreement to form DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC,
a 50/50 global joint venture to develop and commercialize the leading, low-
cost technology solution for the production of cellulosic ethanol -- a next
generation biofuel produced from non-food sources -- to address a $75
Billion Global Market Opportunity.
The partners plan an initial three-year investment of US$140 million,
which will initially target corn stover and sugar cane bagasse. Future
targets include multiple ligno-cellulosic feedstocks including wheat straw,
a variety of energy crops and other biomass sources.
"With food and gas prices surging at double-digit rates, there is an
imperative for sustainable biofuels technologies. This joint venture
addresses this issue head on," said DuPont Chairman and CEO Charles O.
Holliday, Jr. "By integrating our companies' strengths and expertise in
this new venture, we are significantly increasing the potential to make
cellulosic ethanol from multiple non-food sources an economic reality
around the world."
"By combining the world-class capabilities of DuPont and Danisco, our
joint venture will offer the technology standard for cellulosic ethanol
production," said Danisco CEO Tom Knutzen. "This joint venture will be a
powerhouse of discovery, development and engineering. It represents a
major step forward in Danisco's new strategic intent to be a leading force
in the field of industrial biotechnology."
Through the scientists and technologies of both companies, DuPont
Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC will launch an accelerated effort to
integrate the unique cellulosic processing capabilities of both companies
to economically produce ethanol from non-food sources. The parent
companies will license their combined existing intellectual property and
patents related to cellulosic ethanol. The goal is to maximize efficiency
and lower the overall system cost to produce a gallon of ethanol from
cellulosic materials by optimizing the process steps into a single
integrated technology solution.
In the United States, the joint venture will scale up an optimized
technology package for corn cobs from integrating the proprietary DuPont
pretreatment and ethanologen technologies with the innovative enzyme
technology of Genencor, while DuPont continues to analyze the collection
and storage of cellulosic feedstocks. The global joint venture expects its
first pilot plant to be operational in the United States in 2009, and its
first commercial-scale demonstration facility to be operational within the
next three years. The joint venture will be headquartered in the United
States and will be formed after receipt of required regulatory approvals.
The joint venture will license its technology package directly to
ethanol producers for deployment in the United States and around the world,
as well as through the establishment of regional cellulosic ethanol
affiliates. The regional ethanol affiliates will invest in equity
interests with strategic partners, including ethanol producers and energy
companies, to enable the rapid deployment of the joint venture's cellulosic
ethanol technology at commercial scale. The joint venture's technology
package can be used both as a "bolt-on" to an existing ethanol plant --
expanding its capacity to accept cellulosic feedstocks -- or as the design
basis for a stand-alone cellulosic ethanol facility. The joint venture
expects to enable production of commercial volumes of cellulosic ethanol by
2012.
The integration of the partners' individual technology platforms will
combine:
-- A differentiated pretreatment process developed by DuPont through
its collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that allows for reduced capital
costs;
-- Enzyme technologies and production platforms enabling high
biomass-to-sugars conversion rates developed by Genencor, a leader
with world-class capabilities in the discovery, optimization and
production of enzymes for cellulose conversion;
-- A proprietary ethanologen, also developed through the DuPont-NREL
collaboration, based on Zymomonas mobilis. This ethanologen has the
ability to convert sugars contained in the feedstock into high
yields of ethanol with fewer byproducts, and;
-- The companies' joint engineering capabilities in process integration
and facility design.
Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Energy has supported the efforts of
DuPont and Genencor through multiple grants totaling more than $60 million
for the development of pretreatment processes, advanced ethanol conversion
organisms and improved enzymes.
DuPont and Genencor have a history of successful collaboration. In
1995 the companies partnered to develop the fermentation biocatalyst that
produces Bio-PDO(TM) propanediol, one of the first commercial-scale
industrial applications of metabolic engineering designed to make a 100
percent renewably sourced material from corn starch. Today, the product is
manufactured by DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, LLC in Loudon, Tennessee,
U.S. DuPont and Genencor were recognized by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency in 2003 with the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge
Award. Last year, leading scientists and engineers from DuPont, Genencor
and Tate & Lyle were recognized by the American Chemical Society with the
2007 Heroes of Chemistry award.
DuPont and Danisco will host a webcast and slide presentation for
shareholders, investors and the media at 9:00 a.m. (ET) today, accessible
through the DuPont Investor Center at www.dupont.com or the Danisco
Investor Center at www.danisco.com. Additional media materials including
still photography and video are available at www.dupontdanisco.com.
Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S, is a leader in the industrial
biotechnology sector. In more than 40 countries, Genencor's 1,400
employees develop and market innovative enzymes and biobased solutions to
improve the performance and reduce the environmental impact of a wide
variety of industries, from laundry detergents to transportation fuels.
Danisco is a Denmark-based company with 9,700 employees in more than 40
countries. It is one of the world's leading suppliers of food ingredients,
sugar and industrial bioproducts. Based on its technology platform, it
uses nature's own raw materials and resources to develop and produce
ingredients for food and other products used in everyday life. The company
was founded in 1989 and is listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.
DuPont -- one of the first companies to publicly establish
environmental goals 18 years ago -- has broadened its sustainability
commitments beyond internal footprint reduction to include market-driven
targets for both revenue and research and development investment. The goals
are tied directly to business growth, specifically to the development of
safer and environmentally improved new products for key global markets.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in
1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions
essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere.
Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of
innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and
food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.
5/14/08
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SOURCE DuPont
